Surprise exclusions from the eight postseason teams are 2013 World Series Champions Boston Red Sox who finished bottom of the American League East division, a whopping 25 games behind winners Baltimore Orioles.

In the AL Central the title went down to the wire with Detroit Tigers landing their fourth consecutive title just one game ahead of Kansas City Royals.

The Royals will be bitterly disappointed to have come so close but they are rewarded in part by having home advantage in the one game Wild Card playoff against Oakland Athletics.

The A’s in the end were well beaten by Los Angeles Angels to the AL West title – 10 games separated the two – but the contest looked much closer for the majority of the season.

Special mention is reserved for Seattle Mariners who ended the regular season one game off the Wild Card spots behind the A’s with an impressive 87-75 record.

In the National Leagues St Louis Cardinals were pushed all the way by Pittsburgh Pirates for the NL Central division title. The Pirates final day loss to the Cincinnati Reds saw the end of their charge but they were already safely assured a Wild Card spot against San Francisco Giants.

The Giants dogged pursuit of NL West leaders Los Angeles Dodgers came up short as they ended up six games behind their rivals.

Washington Nationals romped to the NL East title and ended the regular season a huge 17 games ahead of their nearest competitors; New York Mets and Atlanta Braves.

The postseason eight are now gearing up for October and the business end of Major League Baseball.

First up are the two Wild Card playoffs – Oakland at Kansas City on Tuesday September 30 followed by San Francisco at Pittsburgh on Wednesday October 1 – to decide who takes their place in the Division Series.

The winner of the Oakland-Kansas City playoff will face the Angels while the San Francisco-Pittsburgh clash with decide who shall take on the Nationals in their respective Division Series.

The American League Division Series both begin on October 2 and the National League Division Series start on October 3.

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